Wii U: bricking it already

I've been reading about how the Wii U launch is going in America & it seems a lot of people have brick their consoles.

A 5gb update is required for many of the features & it's taking a long time for the download to go through.

The Wii U has an auto shutdown mode after about 90 minutes of inactivity which is turned on by default. When the update is being installed for some people, the 90 minutes lapses & switches their console off, bricking it & leaving them not able to do anything with it!

It's stupid that the console installing an update isn't deemed as being active & even people with fast internet are suffering slow downloads.

Be sure this doesn't happen to you by disabling auto shutdown before you start the update

Thankfully the states have got the console first and are finding all these problems. I can see it being a total nighmare for the average UK consumer to do this.
But it does appear its a download thats not required to use the console, u games and basic features so many will just leave it until they need it.

But a big fail from nintendo, will the people who made this decision find their heads rolling.

These problems don't sound encouraging and the issue with gamertags being locked to the machine is not acceptable imo. If I had tons of money I'd buy one at launch but I don't so I think I've made the right choice in holding off till the software picks up and the prices drop a little.

There's also the issue with HDMI, not sure if Nintendo forgot about this, but the console only outputs Limited Range RGB, there's no option to switch to the Full Range (which provides better image quality if your TV supports it, ...which most should do by now).

The option to switch between Limited and Full is there on the PS3 and Xbox 360 (Full being named Expanded here).

These problems don't sound encouraging and the issue with gamertags being locked to the machine is not acceptable imo. If I had tons of money I'd buy one at launch but I don't so I think I've made the right choice in holding off till the software picks up and the prices drop a little.

The 360 was like that until very recently. It's not that much of an issue. It's also temporary. Should something happen to your Wii U, Nintendo has demonstrated with the 3DS and Wii that they will transfer things over

I've been reading about how the Wii U launch is going in America & it seems a lot of people have brick their consoles.

A 5gb update is required for many of the features & it's taking a long time for the download to go through.

The Wii U has an auto shutdown mode after about 90 minutes of inactivity which is turned on by default. When the update is being installed for some people, the 90 minutes lapses & switches their console off, bricking it & leaving them not able to do anything with it!

It's stupid that the console installing an update isn't deemed as being active & even people with fast internet are suffering slow downloads.

Be sure this doesn't happen to you by disabling auto shutdown before you start the update

The auto turn-off is disabled automatically when updates occur. People have bricked their consoles because they willingly chose to unplug it (servers were getting pounded at that time so things were slow, they thought it froze) and that's what happened

I'm sure some consoles will brick (the same happened with the Wii)...but for the most part it's down to an impatient user.

If you update your system don't switch it off mid update because it is slow. That's pretty much guaranteed to brick it.
You'd think most gamers would know that at least...especially on launch day when the servers are bound to take a hammering.

I'm sure some consoles will brick (the same happened with the Wii)...but for the most part it's down to an impatient user.

If you update your system don't switch it off mid update because it is slow. That's pretty much guaranteed to brick it.
You'd think most gamers would know that at least...especially on launch day when the servers are bound to take a hammering.

Most people with anyupdateable hardware should know it. Hell, even PCs say not to do it. It's standard operating procedure

These problems don't sound encouraging and the issue with gamertags being locked to the machine is not acceptable imo. If I had tons of money I'd buy one at launch but I don't so I think I've made the right choice in holding off till the software picks up and the prices drop a little.

Well they are locked to the machine for the moment..

...but I suspect it's highly like that will change at some point.

You can transfer accounts on the 3DS....and they allow you to transfer your Wii account to your Wii U. So it's highly likely they will allow you to transfer your Wii U account to a new Wii U at some point ..

...but Nintendo were never going to allow the same account on more than 1 machine at a time.

I agree you can expect price drops in the near future. UK retail is just trying their luck at launch..as they did with the 3DS XL. Amazon France aren't quite so greedy and they have sliced 35 euros off the rrp of the premium (making it around £255 including tax).

Expect to see UK retail knock £30/£40 off the price once the initial demand has diminished (and probably include another "free" game). If Amazon france can do it ..then so can Amazon UK (but as I'm getting my premium for £199 due to them honouring their mispricing..I can't really complain ).

If the default is set to auto turn off after 90 mins then turn that off first then do the update It ain't rocket science is it

That should be disabled by default when an Update is in progress, at least it is for the PS3 and Xbox 360, if the Wii U is knocking consoles off DURING an update then that's another huge oversight from Nintendo!

That should be disabled by default when an Update is in progress, at least it is for the PS3 and Xbox 360, if the Wii U is knocking consoles off DURING an update then that's another huge oversight from Nintendo!

It's not. It's turned off automatically when updating. The reports otherwise are from people pulling out the power

I did find it quite amusing seeing tweets and reading the DS article about not turning off the power or unplugging the console when it's updating. You mean the warnings that appear all the time aren't just for show?!!

If the default is set to auto turn off after 90 mins then turn that off first then do the update It ain't rocket science is it

I thought you had to do the update before you got acess to the Wii U menu? If you get access to the Menu before the required update, I'll make sure I'll head to the settings and deactivate the auto off function before I do anything

I thought you had to do the update before you got acess to the Wii U menu? If you get access to the Menu before the required update, I'll make sure I'll head to the settings and deactivate the auto off function before I do anything

The Wii U is fully playable before the update, but Miiverse, browser and so forth aren't accessible until you update